Create a vehicle manufacturing program using the Hyperledger Composer API and a Node.js web app

Summary

This code pattern shows you how to use the IBM Blockchain Platform to develop an application that showcases the simple benefits of the IBM Blockchain Platform within the scenario of buying and manufacturing a vehicle. You will be able to see the view of vehicle buyer, manufacturer, and regulator.

Description

Imagine you are a car manufacturer, and you have just made your most desired concept car a reality for the public. Hundreds of thousands of orders are pouring in and you need a way to manage the manufacturing and assembly processes for these orders in an automated fashion. Moreover, you need keep a record of all of the company’s business dealings to ensure that they conform to the regulator’s standards and you are prepared for auditing. By using blockchain, you can incorporate these regulatory rules into the code in a smart contract; this ensures that you are meeting the necessary requirements and the blockchain provides a full record for audit.

In this code pattern, we will show you how to create a vehicle manufacturing program with blockchain using Hyperledger Composer, and we’ll demonstrate it using a Node.js web application. The application showcases the scenario of buying and manufacturing a vehicle.

It has three dashboards. The first is for the vehicle buyer, and enables buyers to view the catalog of vehicles, personalize their selections, and make their purchases. The second dashboard view allows the manufacturer to see the car purchase requests made, track the car manufacturing process, and verify the delivery status details. The third dashboard is for the vehicle regulatory officer, where they regulate the car manufacture and can view the full list of transactions recorded on the blockchain.

As the vehicle is assembled, components like the chassis and the interior are built or installed, and the blockchain assets are updated. Finally, the vehicle identification number (VIN) can be automatically assigned in accordance with a smart contract, retaining regulatory oversight without requiring manual regulatory approval.

This code pattern is for developers looking to start building blockchain applications with Hyperledger Composer. When you have completed this code pattern, you will understand how to:

Create a basic business network using Hyperledger Composer

Manually deploy the network to IBM Blockchain Starter Plan

Build a Node.js web application to interact with the blockchain network using Composer

The instructions will run alongside the demo once it’s deployed. You can also view them on GitHub.

Flow

Vehicle buyer views the catalog of cars on his dashboard.

Buyer personalizes the vehicle by selecting the model, exterior, and interior options and other packages/add-ons available for the vehicle.

Buyer submits the order.

Manufacturer employees receive the order on the dashboard where they can view the progress of the vehicle assembly and the shipment status.

Vehicle regulator views and tracks all details and changes with respect to the order on the blockchain, allowing maximum transparency.

Instructions

Ready to put this code pattern to use? Complete details on how to get started running and using this application are in the README.